Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 101 B
Battle of Greeks against Greeks (Temple of Athena Nike, West Frieze). London.

Marble (Pentelic)
Frieze
H: ca. 45 cm; W(max.): 99 cm

West frieze, block i (right half). From the Acropolis at Athens. The slab had been reused in a Turkish fortification wall and was taken away by Lord Elgin in 1802. It was later given to the British Museum in London.
United Kingdom, London, British Museum, 421
High Classical, ca. 430-420 BC

Preservation:
The entire surface is heavily worn and abraded, all figures are missing limbs. The upper right corner of the slab has broken off.

Description:
Depicted are a total of four figures. To the left a badly preserved warrior attacks an enemy already on the ground, pushing his left foot against the other man’s belly. Both are nude but have cloaks fastened around their shoulders that flow behind them. Next follows a tropaion, of which only a large round shield can be distinguished. Further to the right are two more fighters, moving rapidly to the right. They both wear cloaks and hoplite shields, the man on the right an additional garment that leaves his right shoulder exposed.

Discussion:
This section of the frieze marks the turning point of the battle, evolving around a tropaion (a victory monument) erected earlier. The attackers fight from left to right, outnumbering and overcoming their opponents. The tropaion seemed significant to many scholars in their interpretation of the frieze. Strictly speaking, it should only be erected after the battle (unless it is used in a proleptic sense). There are, however, accounts of two historic battles fought on the same spot, such as an encounter at Megara in 458 BC mentioned in detail by Thucydides: After a first undecided skirmish the Athenians had erected a tropaion; when their Corinthian enemies returned to the battlefield to erect one of their own, they were finally defeated by the Athenians. Such a literal reading of the tropaion is of course not compulsory; it might just add a realistic touch to the scene on the frieze. For a full discussion of the frieze see A 101a.

Bibliography:
A.H. Smith, A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum III (London 1904) 242-245 Catalogue entry with basic information.
C. Blümel, "Der Fries des Tempels der Athena Nike in der attischen Kunst des fünften Jahrhunderts vor Christus" (JdI 65/66 1950) 135-165 Detailed description of the frieze.
T. Hölscher, Griechische Historienbilder des 5. und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. [Beiträge zur Archäologie 6] (Würzburg 1973) 91-98 Argues that the friezes show historic battles in the wake of Marathon.
F. Felten, Griechische Tektonische Friese archaischer und klassischer Zeit (Waldsassen 1984) 118-131 pls. 33-39; 47 Interprets the south frieze as a battle against Persians, and the west and north friezes as a unified composition showing the Trojan War as mythological paradigm for the Persian Wars.
H. Knell, Mythos und Polis. Bildprogramme griechischer Bauskulptur (Darmstadt 1990) 140-141 Good summary and bibliography of recent research on the frieze.
E. B. Harrison, "The Glories of the Athenians: Observations on the Program of the Frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike", in: D. Buitron-Oliver (ed.), The Interpretation of Architectural Sculpture in Greece and Rome (Washington 1997) 109-125 Argues that the south frieze represents Marathon and that other heroic (mythical) exploits of the Athenians are depicted on the north and west friezes.